Being homebound for a while, I'm getting a chance to run through my collection of 2000+ CD's. That means I'm running the amp from 2 to 5 hours a day. By that time, the PT's are really hot, just a bit too hot to touch. I'm running with Tung-Sol 6L6CG-STR's and 12AU7's with the stock rectifiers and VR's (0A3's and 0C2's). Just asking if that's normal.

Running the M-T with my CD deck, setting the volume levels for comfortable listening will be less than 20% of full range. I used the CSP2 or my DIY Zenhead to control the input and get the M-T's volume range up to about half range. Is this an acceptable work-around or am I defeating the amp's sonic capabilities? My primary speakers are rated at 96dB 1W/1M single driver in bass-reflex cabinets.

Don't have an MT, but I don't really feel that the temperature will be an issue.

I would experiment "riding the gain" (have you seen Steve's ideas about this?) by varying the gain input level on the MT and the output of the CSP2. With some components I've preferred to add a little native compression to the sound by having the amp input lower, say 30 to 70 percent, and using higher output from the preamp. With my current sources for most I prefer to have my Torii all the way up and controlling my volume directly from the preamp. This seems to me to let the amp be all it can be, and the resulting open and wide sound is just right for me.

It's all about how it sounds . .. and with Decware amps we really have options!